March 17, 2014- Work continues to complete the Beale Street Landing area along Front Street on Monday afternoon. The city voted to increase the funding to the Riverfront Development Corporation by $600,000 in its midyear cleanup resolution.
(Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

The sound of hammering resonated Monday afternoon from a playground near the Mississippi River that's decorated with a giant model of a catfish. Nearby, a red ramp corkscrews down to a boat dock, and a low building rises gently from the ground, something like one of the mounds an ancient culture left here. Inside the building, agents were selling riverboat tickets.

This is Beale Street Landing, the long-delayed project that now, finally, is nearing completion. A grand opening might take place before Memphis in May celebrations, said Benny Lendermon, president of the Riverfront Development Corp., the nonprofit organization that's worked under contract with the city since 2000 to maintain and develop Mud Island River Park and other amenities.

The project faced numerous delays and cost overruns. When it broke ground in the summer of 2008, it was expected to be finished in 2010 at a cost of more than $27 million. As of January, the cost stood at about $42 million. Lendermon said Monday that the price tag may have risen to $43 million, if you include an additional $1 million the board raised from private sources to fund construction of a top-tier playground area designed by Reb Haizlip, creator of the My Big Backyard exhibit at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

The scene illustrates broader changes on the riverfront. Now that the project is almost done, the question is: What's next?

The city's current contract with the RDC runs through June 30, said George Little, the city's chief administrative officer.

"They want a five-year contract and we'll go into negotiations with them on that," Little said.

Little points out the name of the organization is Riverfront Development Corp. As he sees it, that raises a question: What should be developed? "How does it fit in with a Beale Street that fits in with the river?" He also said the two sides must also take into account a changing economic picture, including the city's budget limitations and changes in the tourism industry.

Lendermon said the contract actually expires April 30 and that they're amending it to get to the June 30 date. He said the organization's goals haven't changed.

"It's same as always. It's bringing people to the river and taking advantage of Memphis' greatest resource." Lendermon said a committee recently made recommendations for improvement and that specific steps will depend on the mayor's administration.

The Memphis City Council voted earlier this month to allocate an additional $600,000 to the corporation as part of its midyear budget cleanup resolution.

The RDC cited several reasons for seeking additional funds. It said the renovation of the Pyramid into a Bass Pro Shops megastore caused it to lose revenue of about $100,000 from a parking lot. Docking fees from the American Queen steamboat company go to the city, and the RDC calculates that this causes the group to lose $126,000 per year. And a policy change means the RDC no longer receives free water, which boosts its costs by an estimated $121,000 per year.

The corporation also asked the city government to restore funds that it had previously cut. The $600,000 increase boosts the city's subsidy to the RDC to about $2.9 million. "It means that we'll continue to operate the riverfront and the city won't shut everything down," Lendermon said.

The next crucial step in the RDC's future will come when the city sets a subsidy for the 2014-15 fiscal year. Little says that the mayor's administration will propose $3 million. The City Council will make the final decision.

City Council's Mid-Year cleanup

The City Council approved $600,000 for the Riverfront Development Corp. in its mid-year cleanup resolution March 4. Here are some other notable items:

A transfer of $5.8 million from reserves to cover higher-than-expected employee health care costs.

A transfer of $1 million toward a larger project to review untested sexual assault kits.

A transfer of $4 million from reserves to cover less-than-expected savings from a debt refinancing transaction.

City chief financial officer Brian Collins said earlier this month that the city is on track to finish the year with $6.3 million in revenue over expenses. The city had budgeted for a surplus of $13 million.